Erasing The Past

I've always found it odd how you can pick up and old journal, read back over the entries, and be embarrassed - ashamed, even - about your own thought and feelings at the time. Ever torn out pages, erased, deleted, etc., because you were so concerned about someone possibly reading what your several-weeks/months/years-previous self wrote? Or maybe because you, yourself, were ashamed that you ever thought that way, and want to forget about it?

Personally, I'm guilty of this. But I stopped to think about it the other day, and realized... hey, you can't change who you were. In fact, who you were is part of who you are, of what you've done, and of how people see you. So why fight so hard to try and erase it? It's it better to deal with it - confront whatever it is that embarrasses you and re-establish how you feel about it now? Trying to change what you've done is impossible, but you can base your current decisions on it. For example, next time you're about to do something, think "What is my future self going to think when they read about this in my journal?"

It's an abstract concept, I know, but try it sometime.